But he's also survived by a lot of dark secrets. Earlier this week we learned that Kinkade had been drinking heavily before he died. And now Kinkade's girlfriend, Amy Pinto-Walsh, wants to tell her story.

Not if Kinkade's family can help it: lawyers representing Kinkade's estranged wife and the Kinkade estate have filed a temporary restraining order against Pinto-Walsh. Simply put, the girlfriend knows too much.

The petition, to be heard by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Patricia M. Lucas, seeks to prohibit Pinto-Walsh from making statements or engaging in conduct that has the effect of defaming, criticizing, disparaging or discrediting Kinkade, Nanette Kinkade, or any company owned by Kinkade "to appear in a negative light or false light."

Pinto-Walsh has allegedly said that she would release confidential information about the Kinkade family, as well as personal photographs. (One imagines that any self-nudes Kinkade had would have been painted.) But perhaps most importantly, Pinto-Walsh "had access to trade secrets and commercially sensitive information."

Trade secrets, eh? While it's unclear exactly what Pinto-Walsh knows, this likely has something to do with Kinkade's ability to mass produce and make a shit-ton of money off subpar art. If the Kinkade family is able to keep Pinto-Walsh quiet, the next "Painter of Light" will have to discover the secret on his own.